We've all arrived at the gym, quickly throwing our belongings into a locker and jumping straight into our workout. This may seem harmless, but warming up is critical to maximizing your workout [1]. If this alone hasn't convinced you, just look at what athletes at all levels do before a competition. If they're a hurdler, they practice going over the hurdles a few times, they make sure their fast twitch muscles are firing, and they get ready to run fast.

The primary goal of a warmup is to prepare someone mentally and physically for exercise/competition [2]. Ian Jeffries, PhD, MSc, CSCS*D, NSCA-CPT*D, professor of strength and conditioning, wrote, "A well designed warm-up can increase muscle temperature, core temperature, blood flow, and also disrupt transient connective tissue bonds." He also found that warming up has the following effects on performance:

• Improvements in rate of force development and reaction time.
• Improvements in muscle strength and power.
• Increased blood flow to active muscles.
• Enhanced metabolic reactions.

Get the most out of your workout by completing a dynamic warmup — moving as you stretch and activate your muscles — before each workout.

Related:

The Best Way to Warm Up Before Every Run (Hint: It's Not Stretching) [3]

High knees

• Begin by standing with your feet hip-width apart and your arms at your side.
• Drive the right knee up and swing your left arm, forming 90-degree angles with both you arm and leg.
• Immediately repeat with the left knee lifting up as you swing your right arm. Be sure that the heel of your foot is always underneath your glute. Your shoulders should be relaxed.
• Your knees should always be up, in front of your body (front side mechanics).
• Continue to move forward for 20-30 feet.
• If you don't have enough space these can be done in place for 30 seconds.

Butt Kicks

• Begin by standing with your feet hip-width apart and your arms at your side.
• Slightly drive the right knee up and swing your left arm, forming 90-degree angles with both you arm and leg.
• Immediately repeat with the left knee, slightly lifting up as you swing your right arm. Be sure that the heel of your foot is always underneath your glute. Your shoulders should be relaxed.
• This move is similar to doing high knees, but your knees shouldn't come up as high.
• Although this is a butt kick, you don't want your heels to hit the muscle in your butt. Your heels should always be underneath your glutes.
• Continue to move forward for 20-30 feet.
• If you don't have enough space these can be done in place for 30 seconds.

Hip Circles

• Start standing with your feet hips width apart and your hands on your hips.
• Place the weight in your right hip as you begin to move your hips in a clockwise motion. Imagine that you're drawing a large circle with your hips.
• The more you lean into this movement the greater stretch you will feel.
• One full rotation counts as one rep.
• Complete 10 clockwise rotations and 10 counterclockwise rotations.

Trunk Twists

• Start standing with your feet hips width apart and your hands on your hips.
• Keep your hips square the entire time, begin to twist your torso to the left side. Return to the middle and twist to the right.
• This counts as one rep.
• Complete one set of 10 reps.

Plank Walkout

• Stand at the back of your mat and circle your arms out to the sides to reach toward the ceiling. Look up and feel your chest opening up.
• Keeping your back straight, bend forward, hinging at your hips to bring your hands to the mat. This position brings length to the back of the legs. If your hamstrings are tight, bend your knees a bit to take tension off the muscles.
• Walk your hands forward, moving into a plank, and hold each step to stretch your calves a bit. This warms up the shoulders and hands nicely.
• Hold the plank for a few seconds to really wake up your core.
• From your plank, walk your hands back to your feet until you are in another forward bend. Slowly roll up to standing, letting your head hang and keeping your neck relaxed. Once you are fully upright, you're ready to repeat the walkout for a total of 10 reps.

Knee Drops

• Start seated with your hands on the ground behind your back.
• Place your feet about an inch further than hips widths apart and bend your knees.
• Lower your left knee down to the ground without moving your right leg. Raise your left knee back up, returning to the starting position. Repeat with the right leg. This completes one rep.
• If you don't have enough mobility in your hips, move your feet further out. You can also perform this move by simultaneously lowering both knees down to each side.
• Complete one set of 10 reps.

Frankenstein Walks

• Start standing with a neutral spine.
• Extend your arms out in front of your body as you step forward with your left leg. At the same time lift your right leg up aiming for your hands. Lower your right leg back down to the ground. Repeat with the left leg.
• Only lift your leg as high as it can comfortably go.
• Repeat for 20-30 meters or do 12 "walks" in place.

Arm Swings With a Skip

• Start standing tall with a neutral spine.
• With power jump up as high as you can, driving your left knee up. At the same time swing your right arm up to help build momentum.
• Land with control, and immediately drive your right knee up as you swing your left arm.
• The goal is to spend as much time in the air as possible. As soon as you land explode back up, going into your next skip.
• Repeat for 20-30 meters or do 20 skips in place.

Fire Hydrants

• Start on all fours with your hands directly under your shoulders and your knees directly under your hips.
• Keep your right knee at a 90-degree angle as you slowly raise your leg to the right until it is parallel to the ground. Avoid lifting your right hip, as you should keep both hips square with the floor.
• With control, lower your leg back to the ground.
• This completes one rep.
• Complete two sets of 10 reps.

Fire Hydrants With a Circle

• Start on all fours with your hands directly under your shoulders and your knees directly under your hips.
• Moving from your hip, lift your left knee up off of the ground. From here draw and imaginary semi-circle with your left knee, slightly opening your hip, moving your knee forward.
• Complete the motion by bringing your left knee back underneath your left hip. Avoid shifting your weight to the right side. This counts as one rep.
• Complete two sets of 10 reps on each leg.

Froggers

• Start on all fours with your hands directly under your shoulders and your knees directly under your hips.
• Slowly slide your knees further apart, so that they are wider than your hips.
• Begin to shift your weight backwards as you move your glutes back toward your heels.
• From here return to your starting position, and then push your body forward to stretch your hips. This completes one rep.
• Repeat two sets of 10 reps.

Traditional Bridge Exercise

• On your mat, lie on your back with your knees bent and feet flat on the floor. Be sure to keep your feet underneath your knees, not in front. Plant your palms by each side, face down.
• Raise your hips up to the ceiling, tensing your abs and squeezing your butt as you do so. You should be making a long diagonal line with your body, from shoulders to knees.
• Hold for a few seconds, making sure your spine doesn't round and your hips don't sag. Keep your abs and butt muscles engaged.
• Lower down to the ground. This is considered one rep.
• Complete two sets of 10 reps.